Courier network service

ABSTRACT

Example apparatus facilitate controlling how targeted electronic data is selected and couriered (e.g., physically carried) between a provider in a first physical location and a recipient in a second physical location. An apparatus, method, or service may control the flow of targeted electronic data or metadata concerning the targeted electronic data in a courier network. The service may consider requests for targeted electronic data or information from which targeted electronic data can be identified. The service may also consider predictions about content that a recipient may want. The targeted electronic data may be identified based on a current state of an operating system, an application, or content at the recipient and information about a desired state of the operating system, application, or content. The number and identity of courier devices selected to courier data may be based on a familiarity index between couriers and recipients in the courier network.

BACKGROUND

Conventional content distribution systems assume that a device to whichcontent is to be distributed will have an Internet connection. A contentprovider may therefore configure their content distribution based on theassumption that all requests for content will come directly from thedevices to which the content is to be provided. While the requests forcontent may transit Internet infrastructure, conventional contentproviders assume that real-time, two-way communications with the contentrequestor will be available. Thus, conventional content distributionsystems may employ sophisticated authentication, authorization, anderror checking approaches that rely on real-time, two-waycommunications. While this model works appropriately for many users,this conventional approach has limited, if any, applicability to a vastnumber of users of digital devices who do not have consistent,always-on, high-speed, two-way Internet connectivity.

There are approximately 7.2 billion people in the world. There are alsoapproximately 1.5 billion cellular phones and smart phones. For manypeople, instant-access high-speed real-time connectivity is the norm.For billions of other people, once a day or even once a week email,social media interaction, or other “connectivity” would berevolutionary. Devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, laptops, computers,game systems) that are able to connect to the Internet seem to be nearlyubiquitous. Whether walking the streets of San Francisco, hiking in theremote high Andes, trekking to parts unknown in Outer Mongolia, sittingin a coffee shop in Seattle, or taking a restful weekend in Amishcountry in Ohio, there is likely to be a connection enabled devicenearby (e.g., in your hand). While devices are nearly ubiquitous,connectivity is not. Connectivity continues to reach deeper into eventhe farthest corners of the world, but there are still coverage gaps.Popular television commercials in the United States compare coveragemaps for various carriers. All the coverage maps reveal significantgaps. In addition to actual gaps, where there is simply no connectivityinfrastructure, gaps may be practical or economic, where connectivity istoo expensive, too slow, or too insecure to be practically oreconomically useful.

Since devices are nearly everywhere, and since connectivity is not yeteverywhere, devices that are used to communicating frequently with theInternet may be forced to function at a reduced level when connectivityis not available. While this reduced functionality may be inconvenientat times, it may be economically or even physically dangerous at others.For example, not being able to watch the most recent version of atelevision show may be inconvenient while not being able to receive themost recent update to a map or to receive an urgent weather bulletin maybe physically dangerous. Not being able to receive the most recentsecurity update or encryption update may be economically dangerous.Regardless of whether the reduced capability is dangerous or justannoying, the loss of connectivity reduces the utility of mobiledevices.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce, in a simplified form, a selectionof concepts that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Example apparatus and methods provide a service that facilitatescontrolling digital content distribution using a courier networkapproach. In the courier network approach, an always-on, high-speed, twoway Internet connection is not employed for all communications. Instead,a connectionless device-to-device, or device-to-destination approach isemployed for at least some communications. Example apparatus and methodsprovide a service for controlling content distribution in the couriernetwork. While a server may have access to large amounts of storage, amobile device may have access to smaller amounts of storage,particularly when acting in a courier role. The service may thereforeselect content to be provided to the mobile device acting as a courier.The selection may be determined by the service's knowledge of thecourier device and by the service's knowledge of the recipient deviceswith which the courier is likely to interact.

In one example, interactions between content providers and the mobiledevice acting as the courier are examined to identify which content thecourier has provided to which recipients. This identification may beused to predict or select content for recipients that the courier islikely to encounter. The identification may be based on requestsreceived from recipients, on knowledge about the state (e.g., operatingsystem loaded, applications used, content acquired) of a recipient, onknowledge about the travel patterns by the courier, or on otherinformation. The identification may then be filtered or altered based,for example, on an account status managed by the service for a courieror recipient (e.g., paid in full, near account limit, overdrawn). Theidentification may also be filtered or altered based, for example, on areputation managed by the service for a courier or a recipient (e.g.,recipient has never violated license terms, recipient has violatedlicense terms, courier delivers license payments within a desired timeframe). The service may be configured to facilitate maximizing differentaspects of a courier network. For example, the service may attempt tomaximize the utility of a particular courier, may attempt to maximizethe utility of a set of couriers, may attempt to maximize theprofitability of a courier(s), or may be configured in other ways.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various example apparatus, methods,and other embodiments described herein. It will be appreciated that theillustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or othershapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. In someexamples, one element may be designed as multiple elements or multipleelements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an elementshown as an internal component of another element may be implemented asan external component and vice versa.

Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates a disconnected device and a device that may act as acourier.

FIG. 2 illustrates a disconnected device and a device acting as acourier.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method associated with providing a courier networkservice.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method associated with providing a courier networkservice.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example apparatus associated with providing acourier network service.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example apparatus associated with providing acourier network service.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example cloud operating environment.

FIG. 8 is a system diagram depicting an exemplary mobile communicationdevice.

FIG. 9 illustrates a collection of example devices waiting for anexample courier.

FIG. 10 illustrates a collection of example devices after an examplecourier has arrived.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventional content providers may design digital content deliverysystems based on the assumption of always-on, high-speed, low-cost,two-way, Internet-based connectivity between a content requestor and acontent provider. However, in many areas and in many situations theassumption may not hold. Delivery may be impossible or impractical dueto unavailable, unreliable, insecure, or intermittent connectivity.Delivery may also be impossible or impractical due to factors includingunacceptable transfer speeds or costs. While this “last mile problem”may be more prevalent in some locations (e.g., remote regions where itmay be a “last hundred mile” problem), the last mile problem is alsoencountered in locations having the greatest amount of infrastructure,where it may be a “last twenty yards” problem. For example, when anoteworthy event occurs even the most robust infrastructure may beoverwhelmed by users of connected devices simultaneously communicatingabout the event. When a conventional system is overwhelmed, atraditional content delivery model may not work.

Mobile devices (e.g., phones, tablets, laptops, game devices) are widelyavailable and mobile. These devices, being mobile, move around. Theymove from hand to hand, from room to room, from building to building,from town to town, from country to country, and even from continent tocontinent in ever changing paths and patterns. These mobile devices havememory that can be used to carry content from location to location, andnon-Internet based communication approaches to distribute that contentto devices that come within range. The billions of mobile devices thatare frequently in motion facilitate providing a courier-basedconnectivity that employs device-to-device communications. Thecourier-based connectivity may be used for content distribution insteadof Internet-based connectivity. Example apparatus and methods provide aservice that facilitates using the courier-based connectivity forintelligent distribution of digital content. The courier-basedconnectivity may provide a connectionless, intermittent, multi-pathapproach to distributing content. Example apparatus and methodsfacilitate identifying content to be distributed, identifying couriersto carry the identified content, and for controlling the flow of contentin the courier network.

Device-to-device (D2D) communication is well understood and continues toevolve. For example, near field communication (NFC) has facilitated bumpconnectivity where two devices that are put in very close proximity canshare digital data. D2D connectivity may occur at longer ranges thanpossible via NFC. For example, WiFi, Bluetooth, or other non-Internetbased near range communications may be employed. At any given time, amobile device may be in D2D range of dozens or even hundreds of mobiledevices. This local connectivity phenomenon has been exploited in D2Denvironments that employ mobile hotspots or other techniques forconnecting to the Internet or to create ad hoc local networks wherecontent sharing may be employed.

While D2D has been exploited for certain types of communications andconnectivity, the last mile problem, the last hundred mile problem, andthe last twenty yards problem still remain and, in some cases arebecoming more profound. The opportunities for D2D interactions increaseas more and more devices are available and come in contact with othermobile devices. Example apparatus and methods use the phenomenon ofmobile devices that travel around to control a courier network totransfer data not just D2D but also device-to-destination ordestination-to-device. Example apparatus and methods consider not justthe devices that are currently in D2D range at a fixed point in time,but also devices or destinations that a mobile device acting as acourier may encounter. The courier network uses a courier-based physicaltransportation approach that does not rely on Internet connectivity fortransfers.

When being couriered, data may be transferred many miles away hoursafter being acquired. While conventional content delivery systems thatrequire immediate license payments, immediate checksum verification, orother immediate feedback may not function in the courier networkenvironment, example apparatus and methods accommodate the time betweencommunications when data is physically transported from place to placein a mobile device in a courier network.

A courier based network may be thought of as a mobile device ecosystem.Content (e.g., digital data) or requests for content may enter themobile device ecosystem via a courier, via a recipient, via a provider,or in other ways. A courier may move around in the ecosystem. When thecourier encounters a device, a transfer may occur between the courierand the encountered device. The transfer may flow from the courier tothe encountered device or from the encountered device to the courier.The communication may not go through the Internet. The communication maytransfer information from which content can be selected by an exampleservice.

By way of illustration, when connected to the Internet or when a contentprovider is otherwise visible, a courier may receive an update to anapplication from the content provider. When the courier encounters adevice that has that application, the courier may push the update to theencountered device or may make the update available for pulling by theencountered device. The encountered device may interrogate the courierto determine what content, if any, the encountered device wishes to havedelivered from the courier. An encountered device may also provideinformation to the courier about content that the encountered devicewould like to receive in the future. The courier may then regainconnectivity or visibility to the content provider and upload requestsfor content and download content from the content provider. Before orafter regaining connectivity, the courier may move to another locationand repeat the process with other encountered devices. Example apparatusand methods provide a service that monitors the interactions betweendevices in the courier network. Decisions about what content to becarried by a courier may be made based on the information about themonitored interactions.

Courier devices have finite resources. It is impossible to load acourier device with every piece of content that every possible recipientactually needs or might want. Therefore, example apparatus and methodsmake selections concerning which content to provide to which couriers.The decisions may be based, for example, on specific recipients that thecourier is likely to encounter, on classes of recipients that thecourier is likely to encounter, on information that a content providerwants as broadly disseminated as possible, on requests from recipientdevices for content, or based on other factors.

In one example, an encountered device may in turn encounter otherdevices that may act as either couriers that provide additional contentor that act as encountered devices and that receive content from theencountered device that acts as a courier. In this way, digital contentor requests for digital content may be spread throughout the ecosystemduring encounters between devices without using the Internet. This maybe referred to as, for example, CourierNet or TomasNet (Transfer OverMobile Apparatus Service). In different examples, the content may bespread organically, may be spread as directed by a service, may bespread under control at the local device level, or may be spread inother ways as the courier devices physically move from place to placeand thus physically carry data in their memories from place to place.Example apparatus and methods provide a service that learns contentdistribution patterns in the mobile device ecosystem. Learning thecontent distribution patterns may facilitate improving a utility measurefor content provision.

Consider a simple courier network scenario where one device acts as acourier and one device acts as a recipient. At some point in time thecourier may acquire content that is of interest to the recipient. Indifferent embodiments, the courier may acquire the content at thedirection of a service, may acquire the content in response to anearlier request from the recipient, may acquire the content on its own,may acquire the content in response to a direction from a contentprovider, or may acquire the content for other reasons. When the courierdevice and the recipient device are close enough to communicate withoutusing the Internet or other long range connections (e.g., cellular), thecontent may be transferred from the memory of the courier device to thememory of the recipient device. Additionally, a request for content maybe transferred from the memory of the recipient device to the memory ofthe courier device. Example apparatus and methods may receiveinformation concerning the interactions or transfers and may then takeactions based on the information. For example, the service may update auser account, the service may update a recipient device reputation, theservice may receive and store a receipt for delivered content, theservice may record directions to not upload delivered content for theparticular recipient, or other actions may be taken. The serviceconsiders what content has been delivered, what content may be needed,patterns surrounding requests, provisioning, encounters, and otherinformation about what is happening in the courier network.

In one example, a user may have a laptop computer at a disconnectedlocation (e.g., cabin in the mountains) and may have a mobile devicethat travels with them “to town” where there is connectivity. The mobiledevice may be able to carry metadata from the laptop to a location wherethe mobile device can access an example service. The mobile device mayalso be able to carry content from a content provider back to thelaptop. Which content is provided to the mobile device may be controlledby an example service. An example service may be aware that the laptopcomputer has a certain version of a certain operating system. When themobile device is connected to the Internet or otherwise visible to theservice, the service may cause an update to the operating system to beprovided to the mobile device. The transfer may occur without the laptopor the mobile device having to request the update. In a fully connectedmodel, the laptop may query an operating system website or serverperiodically as part of a boot process or other maintenance process. Butin the disconnected environment where the laptop never connects to theInternet, updates to the operating system were conventionallyunavailable. Using the courier network, after the mobile device movesfrom the acquisition point back to the cabin with the laptop computer,the update to the operating system that was provided under the controlof the example service may be transferred to the laptop. When the mobiledevice is once again connected to the Internet or otherwise visible tothe service, the fact of the operating system being updated on thelaptop may be reported to the service. The service may then selectdifferent content for delivery to the laptop, where the selection isguided by the knowledge of the operating system on the laptop.

While an operating system is mentioned, the content that is transferredmay include, but is not limited to, movies, books, web pages, documents,photographs, videos, applications, application patches, applicationupdates, operating systems, operating system updates, security patches,encryption keys, and other information. While a direct transfer from thecourier to the recipient is described, in one embodiment the content maytransit a series of couriers before reaching the recipient. Also, thecourier may provide the content to multiple recipients. An exampleservice may monitor which couriers provide which content to whichrecipients, may identify patterns, and may then control how content isprovided to couriers based on the patterns.

A series (e.g., two) of D2D transfers may be more secure than anInternet communication. Thus, an example service may control how contentis provided to a courier and may control how the courier is able todeliver the content to a recipient. The courier may receive the contentthrough a first secure communication then travel to a second locationwhere the courier encounters a recipient device and transfers thedigital content to the recipient device through a second securedconnection. The service may select this courier network based securecommunication over an Internet communication since the sensitive datamay be transferred directly from the provider to the courier anddirectly from the courier to the recipient without being exposed to theInternet. A service may control the distribution of encryption keys,one-time cipher pads, or other data in this fashion.

FIG. 1 illustrates a disconnected device 110, a disconnected device 112,and a connected device 120 that may act as a courier in a couriernetwork. The connected device 120 may be connected to, for example, theInternet 130 or other network or application. Through the Internet 130or other connections, the device 120 may have access to a service 160, acatalog 170, or other applications or content. The devices 110 and 112may be separated from the device 120 and the Internet 130 by, forexample, a mountain range 100. Thus, the devices 110 and 112 may nothave any direct connectivity to the Internet 130, the service 160, orthe catalog 170. However, the devices 110 and 112 may still want toacquire digital content.

Consider a village in the Andes. Children in the village may have smartphones and tablets and may like playing a video soccer game. The villagemay not have Internet connectivity. However, a villager may travel “totown” on a frequent basis (e.g., daily, weekly). If the villager takes asmart phone or other device with them to town, then the villager'sdevice may be able to act as a digital courier in a courier network.

The service 160 may have information about the recipient devices 110 and112 with which the courier device 120 has interacted. The service 160may therefore identify a patch, update, or additional data for thedevices 110 and 112 and cause this data to be provided to the courierdevice 120. For example, the service 160 may cause a patch to the videosoccer game to be downloaded “in town” from the catalog 170 and broughtback to the village by the courier device 120. The courier device 120will physically carry the patch in its memory as it is physicallytransported from town, over the mountains, and back to the village. Thepatch may then be downloaded from the courier device 120 to deviceslocated in the village. The courier device 120 is not acting as a hotspot or distribution point through which a real-time connection isshared, but instead is acting as a temporary repository for requeststhat are physically carried from village to town or content that isphysically carried from town back to the village. This courier basedapproach resolves the technical issue of providing content to remotelocations where Internet or cellular coverage is not available.

The service 160 may be informed later that the content was provided tothe devices 110 and 112. The service 160 may then update its knowledgeof the recipients, including the state of their devices, theirreputation, their account balances, their licensing situation, or otherinformation. Future decisions about content to provide to a courierdevice may then be made based on the updated information.

Devices in the village may provide explicit requests for the courierdevice 120 to carry. The service 160 may eventually receive theserequests and may cause the requests to be accepted or denied by, forexample, the catalog 170. The service 160 may cause the requests to beaccepted or denied based, for example, on the account status of arequestor, on the availability of a courier with sufficient resources todeliver the content, on a reputation of a requestor, or based on otherfactors.

In addition to servicing requests from disconnected devices, the service160 may also select content that the service 160 predicts may be wantedby devices in the village or elsewhere that the courier device 120 maytravel. Thus, the service 160 may control a content provider to push orotherwise make available certain content to the courier device 120 inanticipation of the courier device 120 encountering devices that maywant or need the content. The service 160 may also cause the contentprovider to push or otherwise provide metadata describing a portion oreven all of its content. For example, the service 160 may cause metadatadescribing a portion or even all of the content available in catalog 170to be placed in the memory of courier device 120.

The service 160 may track interactions between the courier device 120and the catalog 170, between recipient devices (e.g., 110, 112) and thecatalog 170, between recipient devices (e.g., 110, 112) and the courierdevice 120, or other interactions. The service 160 may then predictwhich content ought to be provided to device 120 based, for example, onthe recipient devices that the courier device 120 is likely to encounteror the content that the recipient devices are likely to need or want.

FIG. 2 illustrates devices in a courier network that is controlled, atleast in part, by service 160. A disconnected device 110 and a courierdevice 120 are interacting after the courier device 120 has come incontact with the disconnected device 110. While device 110 does not havedirect, real-time Internet based access to service 160, device 110 hascourier network based connectivity to service 160 via device 120. Recallthat the disconnected device 110 may be actually disconnected (e.g., noconnectivity) or may be practically disconnected because a linkavailable to the Internet 130 is too expensive, not secure enough, tooslow, or suffering from other impracticalities. Returning to our Andeanexample, the courier device 120 may have crossed a high mountain pass onthe way from “town”, where the Internet 130 was available, to thevillage where device 110 is located. Device 120 may have content thatdevice 110 requested, that service 160 wanted pushed to device 110, thatservice 160 predicted device 110 might want, or other content. Device120 and device 110 may establish communications using a close rangemechanism (e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi) without using the Internet andcontent may flow from device 120 to device 110. Additionally, requestsmay flow from device 110 to device 120 to be carried back “to town”, orto another location where device 120 may gain access to service 160.This courier approach resolves the technical issue of providing digitalupdates to devices that do not have real-time access to the Internet.

When the courier device 120 returns “to town” (e.g., to connectivitywith the Internet 130), the service 160 may receive information aboutencounters the courier device 120 experienced, may receive data that wastransferred from the courier device 120 to various recipient devices,may receive requests that were transferred to the courier device 120, orother information. The service 160 may also receive information thatcourier device 120 acquired from other courier devices. For example,courier device 120 may have received information from another courierdevice that had visited another set of disconnected devices or fromanother courier device that had visited at least some of thedisconnected devices encountered by courier device 120. When courierdevice 120 next connects to the service 160, this encounter informationmay be used, for example, to update courier network “connectivity” maps,to queue up content to be provided to couriers, to remove content from aqueue for a courier, or for other reasons.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on databits within a memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representationsare used by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of theirwork to others. An algorithm is considered to be a sequence ofoperations that produce a result. The operations may include creatingand manipulating physical quantities that may take the form ofelectronic values. Creating or manipulating a physical quantity in theform of an electronic value produces a concrete, tangible, useful,real-world result.

It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of commonusage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols,characters, terms, numbers, distributions, and other terms. It should beborne in mind, however, that these and similar terms are to beassociated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merelyconvenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specificallystated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughout the description,terms including processing, computing, and determining, refer to actionsand processes of a computer system, logic, processor, system-on-a-chip(SoC), or similar electronic device that manipulates and transforms datarepresented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic values).

Example methods may be better appreciated with reference to flowdiagrams. For simplicity, the illustrated methodologies are shown anddescribed as a series of blocks. However, the methodologies may not belimited by the order of the blocks because, in some embodiments, theblocks may occur in different orders than shown and described. Moreover,fewer than all the illustrated blocks may be required to implement anexample methodology. Blocks may be combined or separated into multiplecomponents. Furthermore, additional or alternative methodologies canemploy additional, not illustrated blocks.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 associated with providing a couriernetwork service. A courier network employs courier devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) to physically transport content from a first device(e.g., content provider server) to a second device (e.g., desktopcomputer). The content is stored in the memory of the courier device andtransferred from the courier device to the recipient device using, forexample, a non-Internet based communication channel (e.g., NFC, WiFi).Method 300 is performed by an apparatus other than the courier device orthe data recipient.

Method 300 includes, at 310, identifying curated electronic data to becouriered between a data provider and a data recipient by a courierdevice in a courier network. Being “curated” means that the data hasbeen selected by a reviewer, reviewing process, or reviewing apparatusfor distribution in the courier network. The curated electronic data maybe identified based, at least in part, on what is already in devices inthe courier network and on a distribution plan for the courier network.For example, identifying the content to be couriered may includeexamining state provided by the data recipient, examining state providedby the courier device, or examining state provided by the data provider.The state of the various devices may be examined in light of adistribution plan for the courier network. The state provided by thedata recipient, by the courier apparatus, or by the data provider mayidentify an operating system on the data recipient, an application onthe data recipient, or a piece of data on the data recipient.

The distribution plan describes facts including a current distributionof content in the courier network, a desired distribution of content inthe courier network, a predicted distribution of content in the couriernetwork, or a distribution urgency for selected content in the couriernetwork. The predicted distribution may account for content that hasalready been provided to courier devices that are moving around in thecourier network ecosystem. The distribution urgency may identify howquickly a content provider or the method 300 would like the content tobe distributed. By way of illustration, for a critical security patchfor an operating system the distribution urgency may be very high, whichmay cause method 300 to select a larger number of courier devices tocarry the content. But for an incremental update to a piece of content(e.g., weekly tabloid newspaper) the distribution urgency may be lowerand a smaller number of courier devices may be selected to carry thecontent.

Examining the state of recipient devices facilitates identifying updatesor replacements that the recipient may want, need, or be interested in.Thus, identifying the curated electronic data may include identifying anupdate to the operating system, identifying a replacement to theoperating system, identifying an update to the application, identifyinga replacement for the application, identifying an update to the piece ofdata, or identifying derivative data based on the piece of data.

Method 300 also includes, at 320, controlling a first electronicinteraction between the courier device and the data provider. The firstelectronic interaction may occur at a first time using a firstcommunication path while the courier device is located in a firstlocation. The first electronic interaction selectively transfers thecurated electronic data from the data provider to the courier device.For example, the first electronic communication may transfer a sequel toa movie (e.g., Rocky II) to be transferred to the courier device.Controlling the first electronic interaction may include selecting acommunication channel that is available between the content provider andthe courier device. The communication channel may be selected based onfactors including, for example, how long it will take to transfer thecontent, how much it will cost to transfer the content, how secure thetransfer will be, and other factors.

Method 300 also includes, at 330, controlling a second electronicinteraction between the courier device and the data recipient. Thesecond electronic interaction occurs at a second later time using asecond different communication path while the courier device is locatedin a second different location. The second electronic interactionselectively transfers the curated electronic data from the courierdevice to the data recipient. For example, the second electronicinteraction may transfer the movie sequel from the courier device to thedata recipient. Controlling the second electronic interaction mayinclude selecting a communication channel that is available between thecourier device and the data recipient. The communication channel may beselected based on factors including, for example, how long it will taketo transfer the content, how much it will cost to transfer the content,how secure the transfer will be, and other factors.

In a courier network, the courier device physically travels fromlocation to location. Thus, the first electronic interaction and secondelectronic interaction are performed independently and are separated bya period of time. For example, the two interactions may occur at leastone minute apart, at least an hour apart, at least a day apart, or evenlonger apart. Since the courier device physically travels from place toplace, the first location may be at least one kilometer from the secondlocation, at least ten kilometers from the second location, or evenfarther apart. While there may be a single first interaction to load aparticular piece of content (e.g., security patch) into the courierdevice, there may be multiple second interactions as the content isprovided to multiple data recipients.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 associated with providing a couriernetwork service. Method 400 includes several actions similar to thosedescribed in connection with method 300. For example, method 400includes identifying content at 410, controlling a first interaction at420, and controlling a second interaction at 430. Method 400 alsoincludes additional actions. For example, method 400 includes, at 405,producing a familiarity index that describes interactions between datarecipients, data providers, and courier devices that use the couriernetwork. For example, the familiarity index may describe how often adata recipient interacts with a courier device, how much data istransferred from a courier device to a data recipient, and what type ofdata is transferred from a courier device to a data recipient.Understanding which devices interact in which ways facilitates matchingcontent and couriers to increase the likelihood that content that iswanted or needed by a data recipient device is available to the datarecipient.

Method 400 also includes, at 412, selecting a number of courierapparatus to which the curated electronic data is to be provided basedon the familiarity index and the distribution plan. For example, thefamiliarity index may identify that twenty courier devices regularlyvisit a location where a particular data recipient is located. Thecontent provider may have a low urgency piece of content to deliver. Inthis case, three courier apparatus may be selected to carry the samecontent based on the idea that one of the three is likely going to comein contact with the data recipient within a desired period of time. Inanother example, the familiarity index may identify that only onecourier apparatus ever comes in contact with a set of data recipients.In this case, content for that set of data recipients may only beprovided to that one courier apparatus. The familiarity index is used toincrease the utility of the courier network by providing appropriatecontent to appropriate couriers for delivery that satisfies adistribution plan.

Thus, method 400 also includes, at 414, selecting which courierapparatus are to distribute the curated electronic data based, at leastin part, on the familiarity index and the distribution plan.

In one embodiment, the curated electronic data may be selected at 410based on a reputation, a licensing situation, or an account situation.For example, a reputation of a courier device may indicate whatpercentage of content provided to the courier device is actually everprovided to a recipient. A reputation associated with a data recipientmay indicate how frequently a data recipient actually acquires and paysfor content that the data recipient requested or for content that waspredictively put into the courier network for the data recipient toencounter. Content may be selected based on those reputations.

Content may also be selected based on license parameters. For example, alicense parameter associated with a courier device may allow the courierdevice to carry certain types of content (e.g., movies) but not othertypes of content (e.g., video games). A license parameter associatedwith a data recipient may identify whether the recipient is allowed todownload a specific piece of content (e.g. movie sequel). There is nopoint selecting content for a courier device that the courier device isnot allowed to carry and for which no data recipient that the courierdevice is likely to encounter is licensed to acquire.

Content may also be selected based on account parameters. For example,an account parameter associated with a courier device may indicate thatthe courier device has a positive payment balance and thus is allowed toacquire more content to distribute for a content provider. However, anaccount parameter associated with a data recipient may indicate that thedata recipient has an overdue payment balance and thus only a smallamount of free content may be selected for courier devices that arelikely to encounter that data recipient.

While FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate various actions occurring in serial, itis to be appreciated that various actions illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4could occur substantially in parallel. By way of illustration, a firstprocess could identify data, a second process could control firstinteractions, and a third process could control second interactions.While three processes are described, it is to be appreciated that agreater or lesser number of processes could be employed and thatlightweight processes, regular processes, threads, and other approachescould be employed.

In one example, a method may be implemented as computer executableinstructions. Thus, in one example, a computer-readable storage mediummay store computer executable instructions that if executed by a machine(e.g., computer) cause the machine to perform methods described orclaimed herein including methods 300 and 400. While executableinstructions associated with the above methods are described as beingstored on a computer-readable storage medium, it is to be appreciatedthat executable instructions associated with other example methodsdescribed or claimed herein may also be stored on a computer-readablestorage medium. In different embodiments, the example methods describedherein may be triggered in different ways. In one embodiment, a methodmay be triggered manually by a user. In another example, a method may betriggered automatically.

FIG. 5 illustrates an apparatus 500 that provides a service for acourier network. The service may control distribution of curatedelectronic data in the courier network. Apparatus 500 includes aprocessor 510, a memory 520, a set 530 of logics, and an interface 540that connects the processor 510, the memory 520, and the set 530 oflogics. The processor 510 may be, for example, a microprocessor in acomputer, a specially designed circuit, a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a processorin a mobile device, a system-on-a-chip, a dual or quad processor, orother computer hardware. Memory 520 may store information forcontrolling the distribution of the curated electronic data in thecourier network. More generally, memory 520 may store information to bedistributed by a courier network or information for controlling how todistribute information in a courier network.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 500 may be a general purpose computerthat has been transformed into a special purpose computer through theinclusion of the set 530 of logics. Apparatus 500 may interact withother apparatus, processes, and services through, for example, acomputer network. Apparatus 500 may be, for example, a computer, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal electronic device, asmart phone, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), or other device that can accessand process data.

The set 530 of logics control the distribution of curated electronicdata in a courier network. The courier network couriers curatedelectronic data between a courier apparatus in a first physical locationand a recipient apparatus in a second physical location. To “courier”data means that the curated electronic data is physically moved from onephysical location to another physical location in the memory of thecourier apparatus. A first interaction may move the curated electronicdata from a content provider to the memory in the courier apparatus andthen a second interaction may move the curated data from the memory ofthe courier apparatus to a recipient apparatus. The two interactionswill occur in different physical locations at different times. Thelocations may be miles apart and the times may be hours apart.

The first physical location and the second physical location areseparated by a threshold distance (e.g., one kilometer, one mile, tenmiles). The courier will receive the curated electronic data at thefirst location (e.g., Cusco) from a first device (e.g., content server)as directed by the apparatus 500 or service. The courier will then storethe curated electronic data in its memory and be physically relocated toa second location (e.g., Llactapata). The courier device will thenselectively provide the curated electronic data to a second device(e.g., kid's tablet). The service may maintain information about thestate of a request/response that may take days to complete. The servicemay also maintain information about the state of a request/responseinteraction that takes multiple iterations of communications from thecontent provider to the courier device, the courier device to therecipient device, the recipient device to the courier device, and thecourier device back to the content provider.

The set 530 of logics may include a first logic 532 that identifies thecurated electronic data. The curated electronic data may be, forexample, an operating system, an operating system update, anapplication, an application update, a piece of content, an update to apiece of content, or an encryption key. Being “curated” means that thecontent has been selected by a reviewer, reviewing process, or reviewingapparatus for inclusion in the content distribution service provided byapparatus 500.

The first logic 532 identifies the curated electronic data based oninformation about the recipient apparatus. The information about therecipient apparatus may have originated in the recipient apparatus andmay describe the state of the recipient apparatus (e.g., contentcurrently stored). The information about the recipient apparatus mayalso be a request provided by the recipient apparatus (e.g., request foradditional content), a notice of content received by the recipientapparatus, or a license parameter associated with the recipientapparatus. The notice of content received by the recipient apparatus maybe used by apparatus 500 to prevent sending the same content out onanother courier device or to identify upgrades, patches, or derivativecontent to provide on other courier devices. Derivative content may be,for example, additional information associated with previously acquiredcontent. For example, an additional virtual battlefield for a video gamewould be derivative content for the video game.

The state of the recipient apparatus is not examined in a vacuum. Forexample, the first logic 532 may identify the curated electronic databased, at least in part, on the state of the recipient apparatus ascompared to a desired state for the recipient apparatus. By way ofillustration, if the recipient apparatus has version 1.1 of an operatingsystem and version 1.2 is available, then the curated electronic dataselected for the recipient apparatus may include the upgrade to version1.2, but also applications that work on version 1.1 in case the datarecipient declines to upgrade.

The information about the recipient apparatus may also have originatedin a courier apparatus. This information may also describe a partial orcomplete state of the recipient apparatus (e.g., current content), arequest provided by the recipient apparatus, a notice of contentreceived by the recipient apparatus, a license parameter associated withthe recipient apparatus, or other information. The courier apparatus mayknow the state of the recipient apparatus by tracking data that thecourier apparatus has provided to the recipient apparatus.

The information about the recipient apparatus may also have originatedin the apparatus 500 itself. This information may describe an accountparameter associated with the recipient apparatus, a reputationparameter associated with the recipient apparatus, a license parameterassociated with the recipient apparatus, or other information (e.g.,content previously sent to the recipient apparatus using the couriernetwork). The account parameter may indicate whether the recipientapparatus has a credit balance or debit balance in their account. Thereputation parameter may identify a payment history for the datarecipient. The license parameter may identify whether the data recipienthas violated any license terms. Thus, the curated electronic data may beselected based not just on what the data recipient has, what the datarecipient wants, or what the data recipient could benefit from, but alsobased on information about the data recipient's interactions with thecourier network and content provider.

The first logic 532 may identify the curated electronic data based oninformation transferred in two or more request/response iterationsbetween the recipient apparatus and the content provider. Arequest/response iteration involves couriering a request from therecipient apparatus to the content provider apparatus and couriering aresponse from the content provider to the recipient apparatus. Sincemultiple request/response iterations may be involved, the first logic532 may need to maintain information about a multi-step communicationuntil the communication can be completed.

In one embodiment, the first logic 532 identifies the curated electronicdata based on a prediction of content that will satisfy a utilitymeasure for the recipient apparatus. The utility measure may balance thedegree to which a recipient wants the content, the degree to which therecipient needs the content, and the degree in which the recipient canactually use the content. By way of illustration, a recipient may haveasked for a certain piece of content ten times and may have even offereda premium to receive the content. This may indicate the degree to whichthe recipient wants the content. The content that the recipient reallywants may be, for example, the next episode in a television series. Theapparatus 500 may know that the recipient is missing a critical securityupdate for an operating system and is missing a useful upgrade to aproductivity application. The recipient may also have an older versionof a video display program, and the requested content may be best viewedusing a newer version of the video display program. Thus, the utilitymeasure may consider all these factors to determine whether to providethe content to a courier device that is likely to encounter therecipient.

The prediction may be based, at least in part, on a state of therecipient apparatus. The state may identify content that is currently onthe recipient apparatus or may identify content that has already beendispatched to the courier network using courier apparatus that arelikely to interact with the recipient. The prediction may also be based,at least in part, on an analysis of the state of the recipient apparatusmade by a recommendation system. A recommendation system may providerecommendations of the form “if you have this, then you might likethis”.

The prediction may also be based on what users other than the datarecipient are doing. For example, the prediction may be based, at leastin part, on content that was acquired from the courier apparatus byother recipient apparatus within a threshold period of time. Thus, theprediction may consider what other users are acquiring from othercouriers. This may identify content that is “hot” or “trending.”Additionally, the prediction may be based on content that was acquiredfrom the content provider within a threshold period of time. This mayfurther identify what is hot or trending. Data recipients may only beable to acquire data that is available in courier devices. However,content may arrive in the content provider after a courier device hasleft the first location. Thus, in one embodiment, the prediction may bebased on content that has been acquired by the content provider since aprevious interaction with the content recipient.

The set 530 of logics may also include a second logic 534 that controlsthe distribution of the curated electronic data in the courier network.Since the courier network involves the physical transportation ofcontent from place to place in the memory of a courier device,communications from provider to recipient are not instantaneous. Thus,the first logic 532 may provide an estimated delivery time for thecurated electronic data or an estimated delivery cost for the curatedelectronic data. The second logic 534 may therefore selectively controlwhether or how the curated electronic data is distributed based, atleast in part, on the estimated delivery time or the estimated deliverycost.

In one embodiment, the first logic 532 assigns an expiration time to thecurated electronic data. In this embodiment, the second logic 534controls the distribution of the curated electronic data based, at leastin part, on the expiration time. For example, upon determining that theexpiration time has passed, the second logic 534 selectively causes thecurated electronic data to be deleted from the memory of the courierapparatus or selectively prevents the curated electronic data from beingdistributed by the courier apparatus.

In one embodiment, upon determining that the targeted electronic datahas already been received by an intended recipient apparatus, the secondlogic 532 selectively causes the targeted electronic data to be deletedfrom the memory of the courier apparatus. For example, the second logicmay send a “delete content X” message to the courier apparatus. Thesecond logic 532 may make the determination that the targeted electronicdata has already been received by examining the state of the recipientapparatus, by examining a content received receipt from the recipientapparatus, or in other ways. The content received receipt may describewhen content was delivered, which courier apparatus delivered thecontent, an amount paid for the content, or other information.

A courier network may have multiple courier apparatus available to helpdistribute curated electronic data. Thus, in one embodiment, the secondlogic 534 controls the distribution of the curated electronic data byselecting a selected courier apparatus to which the curated electronicdata will be provided. The second logic 534 may select one or morecourier apparatus to carry curated electronic data. The second logic 534may select the selected courier apparatus based on different factors. Inone embodiment, the second logic 534 may select a courier apparatusbased on a cost associated with couriering the curated electronic datain the selected courier apparatus. For example, the courier apparatuswith the lowest cost or that may generate the highest profit may beselected. In one embodiment, the second logic 534 may select a courierapparatus based on a security associated with couriering the curatedelectronic data in the selected courier apparatus. For example, a highlysensitive piece of data (e.g., encryption key, cipher pad, productactivation key) may be sent using a courier apparatus with a higherlevel of security while a less sensitive piece of data (e.g.,advertisement), may be sent using a courier apparatus with a lower levelof security. The second logic 534 may select a courier apparatus basedon an expected delivery time associated with couriering the curatedelectronic data in the selected courier apparatus. For example, courierapparatus that are likely to deliver the data within a desired timeframe may be selected.

Courier apparatus have finite resources. Also, there may be a finitenumber of courier apparatus. Thus, in one embodiment, the second logic534 may select how many courier apparatus will carry the data based, atleast in part, on a number of courier apparatus that have already beenprovided with the curated electronic data. For example, if more than athreshold number of courier apparatus have already been provided withthe curated electronic data, only one more courier may be selected,while if less than a threshold number of courier apparatus have beenprovided with the data, a plurality of courier apparatus may beselected. In one embodiment, the number of courier apparatus to whichthe curated electronic data will be provided may be a function of anurgency measure associated with the curated electronic data or on abreadth of distribution measure associated with the curated electronicdata. For example, if some data needs to be distributed as widely aspossible, then a larger number of couriers may be selected, but if someother data only needs to be distributed to a few members of the couriernetwork, then a smaller number of couriers may be selected. Similarly,if a certain piece of data needs to be distributed as fast as possible,then a larger number of couriers may be selected while if the data hasless urgency then a smaller number of couriers may be selected.

Different communication channels may be available for transferringcontent from a content provider to a courier apparatus. Similarly,different communication channels may be available for transferringcontent from a courier apparatus to a data recipient. The channels mayhave different costs, bandwidth, security, and other attributes. In oneembodiment, the second logic 534 controls the distribution of thecurated electronic data by selecting a communication channel forproviding the curated electronic data from the content provider to thecourier apparatus. For example, the second logic 534 may select acommunication channel based, at least in part, on an expected completiontime associated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel. A channel with a quicker expected completion timemay be selected over a channel with a slower expected completion time.Channel selection may be achieved by, for example, establishing valuesin metadata associated with data, where the metadata describes minimum,maximum, or acceptable ranges for different parameters (e.g., cost,transfer time, security). A combination of factors may be considered.For example, a slower but much less expensive channel may be selectedover a faster but much more expensive channel.

The second logic 534 also controls the distribution of the curatedelectronic data by selecting a communication channel for providing thecurated electronic data from the courier apparatus to the recipientapparatus. This channel may also be selected based, at least in part, ona cost associated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, on a security associated with transferring thecurated electronic data on the communication channel, on a bandwidthassociated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, on an expected completion time associated withtransferring the curated electronic data on the communication channel,or on a combination of these or other factors.

Different security levels may be available for data communications. Forexample, a data communication may be encrypted using a variety ofdifferent encryption methods or may be manipulated in other ways thatproduce other levels of security. Thus, the second logic 534 may controla security level associated with transferring the curated electronicdata from the content provider to the courier apparatus. Similarly, thesecond logic 534 may control a security level associated withtransferring the curated electronic data from the courier apparatus tothe recipient apparatus. Controlling the security level may include, forexample, causing content to be encrypted in a certain way.

Mobile devices are, by definition, mobile. Therefore, a potentialcourier apparatus may be in a location where a content provider couldtransfer content if the courier apparatus stayed put for a certainperiod of time. Therefore, in one embodiment, the second logic 534provides time data to a user of the courier apparatus describing aperiod of time needed to complete a transfer of targeted electroniccontent to the courier apparatus. The time data may encourage the userto stay within range of the content provider long enough for thetransfer to complete.

The second logic 534 may not accept all requests for content from a datarecipient that caused the first logic 532 to identify the requestedcontent. Instead, the second logic 534 may control the distribution ofthe curated electronic data by selectively causing a request for contentfrom a recipient apparatus to be accepted or denied by the contentprovider. The acceptance or rejection may be based on factors includingan account status associated with the recipient apparatus (e.g.,current, overdue, cancelled), on a reputation status associated with therecipient apparatus (e.g., trustworthy, not trustworthy, preferredclient), or on information concerning other curated electronic datapreviously distributed to the courier network (e.g., already sentversion 2.1, earlier request for 2.0 denied).

The second logic 534 may control the distribution of the curatedelectronic data to maximize, minimize, or otherwise improve certainmetrics for the courier network. In one embodiment, the second logic 534may control distribution to maximize profit produced for the contentprovider. Maximizing profit may include assigning different sets ofselected content to different sets of selected courier apparatus thatare most likely to encounter recipient apparatus that acquire and payfor the content. In one embodiment, the second logic 534 may controldistribution to maximize throughput to the recipient apparatus or tomaximize a distribution area for the curated electronic data. Forexample, the second logic 534 may seek to distribute an important pieceof news as quickly and as widely as possible. Thus, content that mightget in the way of the important news may be de-selected and a largenumber of couriers may be selected. In one embodiment, the second logic534 may seek to minimize a cost for distributing the curated electronicdata.

A content provider may have a large catalog of content available todistribute. A courier apparatus may have a finite amount of memory todistribute content. Thus, the second logic 534 may control thedistribution of the curated electronic data by deciding whether toprovide actual curated electronic data or metadata about the curatedelectronic data. Some actual data may be distributed and some metadataabout other data may be provided. The mix of data and metadata may bedetermined to reconcile competing demands for content that was actuallyrequested, content that is actually needed, and content that the contentprovider would like recipients to consider and download. Controlling themix of data and metadata may be part of maximizing profit or throughputwhile minimizing cost.

The recipient apparatus and the content provider may be separated bylong distances. For example, the recipient apparatus may reside in avillage on one side of a high mountain pass and the content provider mayreside in a city located on the other side of the mountain pass.Identifying the right information to be carried by the courier apparatusmay require more than one interaction (e.g., request/response) betweenthe recipient apparatus and the content provider. Thus, the first logic532 may identify the curated electronic data based on informationtransferred in two or more request/response iterations between therecipient apparatus and the content provider. A request/responseiteration involves couriering a request from the recipient apparatus tothe content provider and couriering a response from the content providerto the recipient apparatus. Recall that couriering involves physicallycarrying electronic data in a memory from place to place. The requestsand responses may travel back and forth in the same courier apparatus orat least one of the requests or responses may travel between the contentprovider and recipient apparatus in a different courier apparatus.

Identifying and providing curated electronic data may involve two ormore iterations of interactions between the recipient apparatus and theservice. Consider a request for an upgrade to an operating system or anattempt to push an update to an operating system. The request or pushmay need to be orchestrated in multiple phases where requests,responses, or state transit multiple devices in multiple sessions (e.g.,go from 1^(st) courier to 2^(nd) courier to 3^(rd) courier tointernet/catalog then back by 3^(rd) courier to 4^(th) courier to 5^(th)courier). A request may travel to the service by one path and contentmay be delivered back by a different path using a different courier.

FIG. 6 illustrates an apparatus 600 that is similar to apparatus 500(FIG. 5). For example, apparatus 600 includes a processor 610, a memory620, and logics 632 and 634 that correspond to the set of logics 530(FIG. 5). However, different embodiments of apparatus 600 may includeadditional logics that perform additional functions.

Apparatus 600 also includes an additional third logic 636. Third logic636 may provide a user interface for the apparatus 600. The userinterface may display different information to facilitate understandingor controlling the courier network functionality provided by apparatus600. For example, the user interface may display a number of courierapparatus available to distribute the curated electronic data and anexpected number of courier apparatus available to distribute the curatedelectronic data. Knowing how many couriers are available may facilitateunderstanding how long it is going to take to achieve a desiredcoverage. The user interface may also display information concerningcommunication channels available to distribute the curated electronicdata. Understanding which channels are available may help understandingdistribution costs. The user interface may also display a likelihood ofan interaction between a certain courier apparatus and a certainrecipient apparatus, a number of recipient apparatus likely to beencountered by the courier apparatus, an actual coverage of the couriernetwork by the curated electronic data, or a predicted coverage of thecourier network by the curated electronic data. Understanding thelikelihoods of interactions and the resulting coverage may facilitateunderstanding the impact of varying the number of couriers. A user ofapparatus 600 may examine the displayed information to determine whichactions to take. For example, a user may look at the user interface andsee that a favorite courier apparatus is available and that the courierapparatus is likely to encounter a desired set of recipient apparatus.The user may then direct the apparatus to provide the curated electronicdata to that recipient. In another example, the user may look at theuser interface and see that a recipient has requested certain contentbut the recipient has not paid their bill and has a bad reputation forviolating license agreements. The user may then make a business decisionconcerning whether to send the requested content via a courier apparatusbased on the reputation, license, and account data.

Apparatus 600 also includes a fourth logic 638 that provides afamiliarity index. A familiarity index relates one or more courierapparatus in the courier network to one or more recipient apparatus inthe courier network. The index may be implemented in different datastructures including, for example, an array, a multi-dimensional array,a tree, a set of records, a table, a database, or other data structure.In one embodiment, the familiarity index describes how often a recipientapparatus interacts with a courier apparatus, an amount of datatransferred from a courier apparatus to a recipient apparatus, a type ofdata transferred from a courier apparatus to a recipient apparatus, orother information. Having knowledge about how frequently a courierapparatus interacts with a recipient apparatus facilitates decidingwhich courier apparatus ought to carry which content that is intendedfor certain data recipients. Having knowledge about which set ofcouriers may be required to provide a certain likelihood of a desireddistribution or coverage for data also facilitates selecting a numberand identity of courier apparatus.

Thus, the fourth logic 638 may adapt how the second logic 634 controlsthe distribution of the curated electronic data based, at least in part,on data in the familiarity index. For example, the familiarity index maydescribe a likelihood that a courier apparatus will interact with arecipient apparatus and the fourth logic 638 may select couriers todeliver the curated electronic data based on the likelihoods ofinteractions between couriers and recipients.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example cloud operating environment 700. A cloudoperating environment 700 supports delivering computing, processing,storage, data management, applications, or other functionality as anabstract service rather than as a standalone product. Services may beprovided by virtual servers that may be implemented as one or moreprocesses on one or more computing devices. In some embodiments,processes may migrate between servers without disrupting the cloudservice. In the cloud, shared resources (e.g., computing, storage) maybe provided to computers including servers, clients, and mobile devicesover a network. Different networks (e.g., Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 802.x,cellular) may be used to access cloud services. Users interacting withthe cloud may not need to know the particulars (e.g., location, name,server, database) of a device that is actually providing the service(e.g., computing, storage). Users may access cloud services via, forexample, a web browser, a thin client, a mobile application, or in otherways. Courier apparatus or recipient apparatus may interact with or havetheir actions controlled, at least in part, by courier network service760.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example courier network service 760 residing inthe cloud. The courier network service 760 may rely on a server 702 orservice 704 to perform processing and may rely on a data store 706 ordatabase 708 to store data. While a single server 702, a single service704, a single data store 706, and a single database 708 are illustrated,multiple instances of servers, services, data stores, and databases mayreside in the cloud 700 and may, therefore, be used by the couriernetwork service 760. At one point in time, a courier device may haveaccess to courier network service 760 while a recipient device may nothave direct access to the cloud 700 or courier network service 760.However, the recipient may gain some form of access to the couriernetwork service 760 through messages, content, metadata, or otherinformation that is physically transported to the recipient device by acourier device.

FIG. 7 illustrates various devices accessing the courier network service760. The devices include a computer 710, a tablet 720, a laptop computer730, a personal digital assistant 740, and a mobile device (e.g.,cellular phone, satellite phone, wearable computing device) 750. Thedifferent devices may act as courier devices. The courier networkservice 760 may facilitate identifying curated electronic content to beprovided to a courier device and identifying curated electronic contentto be provided to a recipient device. The courier network service 760may support different distribution models including request/responsemodels, push models, and pull models that act autonomously, organically,or under some service or device-based control. The courier networkservice 760 may control how content is distributed by the couriernetwork.

It is possible that different users at different locations usingdifferent devices may access the courier network service 760 throughdifferent networks or interfaces. In one example, the courier networkservice 760 may be accessed by a mobile device 750. The mobile device750 may act as a courier in a courier network. In another example,portions of the courier network service 760 may reside on a mobiledevice 750. Thus, in one embodiment, devices that come in contact withmobile device 750 may gain access to at least a portion of the service760 or be visible to the service 760.

FIG. 8 is a system diagram depicting an exemplary mobile device 800 thatincludes a variety of optional hardware and software components, showngenerally at 802. In different embodiments, mobile device 800 may act asa courier device in a courier network or may provide a service forcontrolling content distribution in a courier network. Components 802 inthe mobile device 800 can communicate with other components, althoughnot all connections are shown for ease of illustration. The mobiledevice 800 may be a variety of computing devices (e.g., cell phone,smartphone, handheld computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),wearable computing device, etc.) and may allow wireless two-waycommunications with one or more mobile communications networks 804, suchas a cellular or satellite network.

Mobile device 800 can include a controller or processor 810 (e.g.,signal processor, microprocessor, ASIC, or other control and processinglogic circuitry) for performing tasks including signal coding, dataprocessing, input/output processing, power control, or other functions.An operating system 812 can control the allocation and usage of thecomponents 802 and support application programs 814. The applicationprograms 814 can include content provider applications, recommendationapplications, user activity applications, mobile computing applications(e.g., email applications, calendars, contact managers, web browsers,messaging applications), video games, or other computing applications.

Mobile device 800 can include memory 820. Memory 820 can includenon-removable memory 822 or removable memory 824. The non-removablememory 822 can include random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), flash memory, a hard disk, or other memory storage technologies.The removable memory 824 can include flash memory or a SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) card, which is well known in GSM communicationsystems, or other memory storage technologies, such as “smart cards.”The memory 820 can be used for storing data or code for running theoperating system 812 and the applications 814. Example data can includerequests for content, content, metadata about available content,connectivity maps, reputation data, account data, prediction data, orother data. The memory 820 can be used to store a subscriber identifier,such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and anequipment identifier, such as an International Mobile EquipmentIdentifier (IMEI). In one example, the identifiers may be transmitted toa network server to identify users or equipment.

The mobile device 800 can support one or more input devices 830including but not limited to, a touchscreen 832, a microphone 834, acamera 836, a physical keyboard 838, or trackball 840. The mobile device800 may also support output devices 850 including, but not limited to, aspeaker 852 and a display 854. Other possible output devices (not shown)can include piezoelectric or other haptic output devices. Some devicescan serve more than one input/output function. For example, touchscreen832 and display 854 can be combined in a single input/output device. Theinput devices 830 can include a Natural User Interface (NUI). A NUI isan interface technology that enables a user to interact with a device ina “natural” manner, free from artificial constraints imposed by inputdevices such as mice, keyboards, remote controls, and others. Examplesof NUI methods include those relying on speech recognition, touch andstylus recognition, gesture recognition (both on screen and adjacent tothe screen), air gestures, head and eye tracking, voice and speech,vision, touch, gestures, and machine intelligence. Other examples of aNUI include motion gesture detection using accelerometers/gyroscopes,facial recognition, three dimensional (3D) displays, head, eye, and gazetracking, immersive augmented reality and virtual reality systems, allof which provide a more natural interface, as well as technologies forsensing brain activity using electric field sensing electrodes (EEG andrelated methods). Thus, in one specific example, the operating system812 or applications 814 can include speech-recognition software as partof a voice user interface that allows a user to operate the device 800via voice commands. Further, the device 800 can include input devicesand software that allow for user interaction via a user's spatialgestures, such as detecting and interpreting gestures to provide inputto a recommendation application.

A wireless modem 860 can be coupled to an antenna 891. In some examples,radio frequency (RF) filters are used and the processor 810 need notselect an antenna configuration for a selected frequency band. Thewireless modem 860 can support two-way communications between theprocessor 810 and external devices. The modem 860 is shown genericallyand can include a cellular modem for communicating with the mobilecommunication network 804 and/or other radio-based modems (e.g.,Bluetooth 864 or Wi-Fi 862). The wireless modem 860 may be configuredfor communication with one or more cellular networks, such as a Globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM) network for data and voicecommunications within a single cellular network, between cellularnetworks, or between the mobile device and a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN). NFC logic 892 facilitates having near fieldcommunications (NFC). Other short range communication protocols anddevice-to-device communications may be supported.

The mobile device 800 may include at least one input/output port 880, apower supply 882, a satellite navigation system receiver 884 such as aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a physical connector 890,which can be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, IEEE 1394 (FireWire)port, RS-232 port, or other port. The illustrated components 802 are notrequired or all-inclusive, as other components can be deleted or added.

Mobile device 800 may include a courier network logic 899 that providesa functionality for the mobile device 800. For example, the couriernetwork logic 899 may provide a client for interacting with a service(e.g., service 760, FIG. 7) or may provide the service. Portions of theexample methods described herein may be performed by the courier networklogic 899. Similarly, the courier network logic 899 may implementportions of apparatus described herein.

In one embodiment, the courier network logic 899 may provide a contentcircuit that selects content to be carried in the memory of a courierapparatus operating in a direct network. Being a “direct” network meansthat some devices in the network communicate directly one-on-one witheach other using, for example, NFC, rather than communicating indirectlythrough routers and other network apparatus using connections providedby the Internet or other network. The content is received from a dataprovider (e.g., electronic book store, operating system vendor,application vendor, video game store) and delivered to a second device(e.g., remote laptop) by a courier apparatus (e.g., smart phone carriedby traveler). The content circuit selects the content based on contentthat is already stored in the direct network, data that is available tothe network, and a distribution plan. For example, the content circuitmay consider content already stored by the courier apparatus and contentalready stored by the second device before deciding what additionalcontent to provide to the courier apparatus for potential delivery tothe second device. The content circuit may also consider a distributionplan that describes content that is to be stored on the second device.For example, the distribution plan may identify an operating system anda service pack that an operating system vendor and manufacturer ofmobile devices would prefer to have installed on devices. The contentcircuit may consider this plan when deciding what content (e.g.,operating system, service pack) to provide to the courier apparatus fordelivery to the second device.

Selecting the content to be distributed is just part of the work thatmay be performed by courier network logic 899. Courier network logic 899may also include a connection circuit that controls communications inthe direct network. For example, the connection circuit may controlcommunications between the courier apparatus and the content providerand between the courier apparatus and the second device. Controllingcommunications may include identifying the content as only being allowedto be transferred over a certain type of communication link (e.g.,Internet, not Internet). The connection circuit controls thecommunication of the content between the courier apparatus and thecontent provider at a first time at a first physical location using afirst protocol while the courier apparatus is located at the firstphysical location. For example, while an owner of the courier apparatus(e.g., smart phone) is at work in the city the connection circuit mayprovide an update to a video game that is stored on other devices withwhich the courier apparatus may come in contact while at home in thesuburbs. The connection circuit may then also control the communicationof the content between the courier apparatus (e.g., smartphone) and thesecond device (e.g., laptop at home) at a second time at a secondphysical location using a second protocol while the courier apparatus islocated at the second physical location. In this way, the content may beprovided to the mobile device using a first type of link (e.g., highspeed, low cost Internet) in a location with a first type ofinfrastructure and the content may be provided to the laptop and otherdevices using a second type of link (e.g., NFC) in a location with asecond type of infrastructure. The second protocol may not involve theInternet and may be direct and connectionless.

FIG. 9 illustrates a mountain range 900 and devices 910, and 912 through916. The devices 910 through 916 may be able to communicate with eachother but may not have any Internet connectivity. The devices 910-916may participate in a courier network where messages, data, or otherinformation is physically transported by a courier device.

FIG. 10 illustrates mountain range 900 and a different set of devices.In addition to devices 910 and 912 through 916, a device 920 is presentas are devices 9121 and 9122. Device 920 may be acting as a courierdevice. Device 920 may have brought electronic content over themountains 900. Device 920 may have specific electronic content that waspreviously requested by a device, or may have information aboutelectronic content that is available on the other side of the mountains900. Device 920 may provide content or metadata to device 910. Device920 may also provide content or metadata to device 912. Device 912 maythen in turn provide content or metadata to devices 9121 and 9122. Whilein range of the devices 910 through 916, device 920 may receive requestsfor content. The requests may come directly (e.g., from device 910) ormay come indirectly (e.g., from device 9121 via device 912). The contentavailable in device 920 may have been selected by a service provided byexample apparatus and methods. Additionally, the way in which content ismade available from device 920 may be controlled by a service providedby example apparatus and methods.

“Computer-readable storage medium”, as used herein, refers to a mediumthat stores instructions or data. “Computer-readable storage medium”does not refer to propagated signals, per se. A computer-readablestorage medium may take forms, including, but not limited to,non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include,for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, tapes, flash memory, readonly memory (ROM), and other media. Volatile media may include, forexample, semiconductor memories, dynamic memory (e.g., dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM),double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR SDRAM),etc.), and other media. Common forms of a computer-readable storagemedium may include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk, a flexibledisk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, other magnetic medium, a compactdisk (CD), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), amemory chip or card, a memory stick, and other media from which acomputer, a processor or other electronic device can read.

The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein.The definitions include various examples or forms of components thatfall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation.The examples are not intended to be limiting. Both singular and pluralforms of terms may be within the definitions.

References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “one example”, and “anexample” indicate that the embodiment(s) or example(s) so described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, characteristic, property,element, or limitation, but that not every embodiment or examplenecessarily includes that particular feature, structure, characteristic,property, element or limitation. Furthermore, repeated use of the phrase“in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment,though it may.

“Data store”, as used herein, refers to a physical or logical entitythat can store electronic data. A data store may be, for example, adatabase, a table, a file, a list, a queue, a heap, a memory, aregister, and other physical repository. In different examples, a datastore may reside in one logical or physical entity or may be distributedbetween two or more logical or physical entities. Storing electronicdata in a data store causes a physical transformation of the data store.

“Logic”, as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware,firmware, software in execution on a machine, or combinations of each toperform a function(s) or an action(s), or to cause a function or actionfrom another logic, method, or system. Logic may include a softwarecontrolled microprocessor, a discrete logic (e.g., ASIC), an analogcircuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memory devicecontaining instructions, and other physical devices. Logic may includeone or more gates, combinations of gates, or other circuit components.Where multiple logical logics are described, it may be possible toincorporate the multiple logical logics into one physical logic.Similarly, where a single logical logic is described, it may be possibleto distribute that single logical logic between multiple physicallogics.

To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in thedetailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim.

To the extent that the term “or” is employed in the detailed descriptionor claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. Whenthe Applicant intends to indicate “only A or B but not both” then theterm “only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term“or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A.Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (2d. Ed. 1995).

To the extent that the phrase “one of, A, B, and C” is employed herein,(e.g., a data store configured to store one of, A, B, and C) it isintended to convey the set of possibilities A, B, and C, (e.g., the datastore may store only A, only B, or only C). It is not intended torequire one of A, one of B, and one of C. When the applicants intend toindicate “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C”,then the phrasing “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at leastone of C” will be employed.

To the extent that the phrase “one or more of, A, B, and C” is employedherein, (e.g., a data store configured to store one or more of, A, B,and C) it is intended to convey the set of possibilities A, B, C, AB,AC, BC, ABC, AA . . . A, BB . . . B, CC . . . C, AA . . . ABB . . . B,AA . . . ACC . . . C, BB . . . BCC . . . C, or AA . . . ABB . . . BCC .. . C (e.g., the data store may store only A, only B, only C, A&B, A&C,B&C, A&B&C, or other combinations thereof including multiple instancesof A, B, or C). It is not intended to require one of A, one of B, andone of C. When the applicants intend to indicate “at least one of A, atleast one of B, and at least one of C”, then the phrasing “at least oneof A, at least one of B, and at least one of C” will be employed.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood thatthe subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, thespecific features and acts described above are disclosed as exampleforms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a processor; a set oflogics that control the distribution of curated electronic data in acourier network; a memory that stores information for controlling thedistribution of the curated electronic data in the courier network; andan interface to connect the processor, the memory, and the set oflogics; the set of logics comprising: a first logic that identifies thecurated electronic data; and a second logic that controls thedistribution of the curated electronic data in the courier network,where the courier network includes a recipient apparatus and a courierapparatus, where the courier apparatus receives the curated electronicdata from a content provider at a first physical location at a firstpoint in time as controlled, at least in part, by the second logic,where the curated electronic is carried to a second physical location bythe courier apparatus, and where the courier apparatus provides thecurated electronic data to the recipient apparatus at the secondphysical location at a second later point in time as controlled, atleast in part, by the second logic.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherethe first logic identifies the curated electronic data based oninformation about the recipient apparatus, where the information aboutthe recipient apparatus describes a state of the recipient apparatus. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, where the first logic identifies the curatedelectronic data based, at least in part, on the state of the recipientapparatus as compared to a desired state for the recipient apparatus. 4.The apparatus of claim 2, where the information about the recipientapparatus originated in the recipient apparatus and describes the stateof the recipient apparatus, a request provided by the recipientapparatus, a notice of content received by the recipient apparatus, or alicense parameter associated with the recipient apparatus.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 2, where the information about the recipientapparatus originated in the courier apparatus and describes the state ofthe recipient apparatus, a request provided by the recipient apparatus,a notice of content received by the recipient apparatus, or a licenseparameter associated with the recipient apparatus.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 2, where the information about the recipient apparatus originatedin the apparatus and describes an account parameter associated with therecipient apparatus, a reputation parameter associated with therecipient apparatus, or a license parameter associated with therecipient apparatus.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, where the curatedelectronic data is an operating system, an operating system update, anapplication, an application update, a piece of content, an update to apiece of content, or an encryption key.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,where the first logic identifies the curated electronic data based oninformation transferred in two or more request/response iterationsbetween the recipient apparatus and the content provider, where arequest/response iteration involves couriering a request from therecipient apparatus to the content provider and couriering a responsefrom the content provider to the recipient apparatus.
 9. The apparatusof claim 1, where the first logic identifies the curated electronic databased on a prediction of content that will satisfy a utility measure forthe recipient apparatus.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, where theprediction is based, at least in part, on a state of the recipientapparatus.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, where the prediction is based,at least in part, on a an analysis of the state of the recipientapparatus made by a recommendation system.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9,where the prediction is based, at least in part, on content that wasacquired from the courier apparatus by other recipient apparatus withina threshold period of time.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, where theprediction is based, at least in part, on content that was acquired fromthe content provider within a threshold period of time.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 9, where the prediction is based on content that hasbeen acquired by the content provider since a previous interaction withthe recipient apparatus.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, where the firstlogic provides an estimated delivery time for the curated electronicdata or an estimated delivery cost for the curated electronic data, andwhere the second logic selectively controls whether or how the curatedelectronic data is distributed based, at least in part, on the estimateddelivery time or the estimated delivery cost.
 16. The apparatus of claim1, where the first logic assigns an expiration time to the curatedelectronic data and where the second logic controls the distribution ofthe curated electronic data based, at least in part, on the expirationtime.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, where, upon determining that theexpiration time has passed, the second logic selectively causes thecurated electronic data to be deleted from the memory of the courierapparatus or selectively prevents the curated electronic data from beingdistributed by the courier apparatus.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1,where, upon determining that the curated electronic data has alreadybeen received by an intended recipient apparatus, the second logicselectively causes the curated electronic data to be deleted from thememory of the courier apparatus.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, where thesecond logic controls the distribution of the curated electronic data byselecting a selected courier apparatus to which the curated electronicdata will be provided.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, where the secondlogic selects the selected courier apparatus based, at least in part, ona cost associated with couriering the curated electronic data in theselected courier apparatus, on a security associated with couriering thecurated electronic data in the selected courier apparatus, or on anexpected delivery time associated with couriering the curated electronicdata in the selected courier apparatus.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19,where the second logic selects the selected courier apparatus based, atleast in part, on a number of courier apparatus that have already beenprovided with the curated electronic data.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1,where the second logic controls the distribution of the curatedelectronic data by identifying a number of courier apparatus to whichthe curated electronic data will be provided.
 23. The apparatus of claim22, where the number of courier apparatus to which the curatedelectronic data will be provided is based, at least in part, on anurgency measure associated with the curated electronic data, or on abreadth of distribution measure associated with the curated electronicdata.
 24. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic controls thedistribution of the curated electronic data by selecting a communicationchannel for providing the curated electronic data from the contentprovider to the courier apparatus.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherethe communication channel is selected based, at least in part, on a costassociated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, on a security associated with transferring thecurated electronic data on the communication channel, on a bandwidthassociated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, or on an expected completion time associated withtransferring the curated electronic data on the communication channel.26. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic controls thedistribution of the curated electronic data by selecting a communicationchannel for providing the curated electronic data from the courierapparatus to the recipient apparatus.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26,where the communication channel is selected based, at least in part, ona cost associated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, on a security associated with transferring thecurated electronic data on the communication channel, on a bandwidthassociated with transferring the curated electronic data on thecommunication channel, or on an expected completion time associated withtransferring the curated electronic data on the communication channel.28. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic controls a securitylevel associated with transferring the curated electronic data from thecontent provider to the courier apparatus, or where the second logiccontrols a security level associated with transferring the curatedelectronic data from the courier apparatus to the recipient apparatus.29. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic provides time datato a user of the courier apparatus describing a period of time needed tocomplete a transfer of targeted electronic content to the courierapparatus.
 30. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic controlsthe distribution of the curated electronic data by selectively causing arequest for content from the recipient apparatus to be accepted by thecontent provider based, at least in part, on an account statusassociated with the recipient apparatus, on a reputation statusassociated with the recipient apparatus, or on information concerningother curated electronic data previously distributed to the couriernetwork.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, where the second logicselectively updates the account status associated with the recipientapparatus or the reputation status associated with the recipientapparatus.
 32. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logic controlsthe distribution of the curated electronic data to maximize profitproduced for the content provider, to maximize throughput to therecipient apparatus, to maximize a distribution area for the curatedelectronic data, or to minimize a cost for distributing the curatedelectronic data.
 33. The apparatus of claim 1, where the second logiccontrols the distribution of the curated electronic data by decidingwhether to provide actual curated electronic data or metadata about thecurated electronic data.
 34. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising athird logic that provides a user interface that displays a number ofcourier apparatus available to distribute the curated electronic data,an expected number of courier apparatus available to distribute thecurated electronic data, information concerning communication channelsavailable to distribute the curated electronic data, a likelihood of aninteraction between a certain courier apparatus and a certain recipientapparatus, a number of recipient apparatus likely to be encountered bythe courier apparatus, an actual coverage of the courier network by thecurated electronic data, or a predicted coverage of the courier networkby the curated electronic data.
 35. The apparatus of claim 1, comprisinga fourth logic that provides a familiarity index that relates one ormore courier apparatus in the courier network to one or more recipientapparatus in the courier network, where the familiarity index describeshow often a recipient apparatus interacts with a courier apparatus, anamount of data transferred from a courier apparatus to a recipientapparatus, and a type of data transferred from a courier apparatus to arecipient apparatus.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35, where the fourthlogic adapts how the second logic controls the distribution of thecurated electronic data based, at least in part, on data in thefamiliarity index.
 37. The apparatus of claim 35, where the familiarityindex describes a likelihood that a courier apparatus will interact witha recipient apparatus, and where the fourth logic controls delivery ofthe curated electronic data based on the likelihoods of interactionsbetween couriers and recipients.
 38. A method, comprising: identifyingcurated electronic data to be couriered between a data provider and adata recipient by a courier device in a courier network, where thecurated electronic data is identified based, at least in part, on stateprovided by the data recipient, on state provided by the courier device,on state provided by the data provider, and on a distribution plan forthe courier network; controlling a first electronic interaction betweenthe courier device and the data provider, where the first electronicinteraction occurs at a first time using a first communication pathwhile the courier device is located in a first location; and controllinga second electronic interaction between the courier device and the datarecipient, where the second electronic interaction occurs at a secondlater time using a second different communication path while the courierdevice is located in a second different location, where the firstelectronic interaction selectively transfers the curated electronic datafrom the data provider to the courier device, where the secondelectronic interaction selectively transfers the curated electronic datafrom the courier device to the data recipient, where the firstelectronic interaction and the second electronic interaction areperformed independently and separated by at least one minute, and wherethe method is performed by an apparatus other than the courier device orthe data recipient.
 39. The method of claim 38, where the first locationis at least one kilometer from the second location, where the secondtime is at least one hour after the first time, and where the secondcommunication path does not include the Internet.
 40. The method ofclaim 38, where the state provided by the data recipient, by the courierdevice, or by the data provider identifies an operating system on thedata recipient, an application on the data recipient, or a piece of dataon the data recipient.
 41. The method of claim 40, where thedistribution plan describes a current distribution of content in thecourier network, a desired distribution of content in the couriernetwork, a predicted distribution of content in the courier network, anda distribution urgency for selected content in the courier network. 42.The method of claim 40, where identifying the curated electronic dataincludes identifying an update to the operating system, identifying areplacement to the operating system, identifying an update to theapplication, identifying a replacement for the application, identifyingan update to the piece of data, or identifying derivative data based onthe piece of data.
 43. The method of claim 41, the method comprisingproducing a familiarity index that describes interactions between datarecipients, data providers, and courier devices.
 44. The method of claim43, comprising selecting a number of courier apparatus to which thecurated electronic data is to be provided based on the familiarity indexand the distribution plan.
 45. The method of claim 43, comprisingselecting which courier apparatus are to distribute the curatedelectronic data based, at least in part, on the familiarity index andthe distribution plan.
 46. The method of claim 41, comprising selectingthe curated electronic data based on a reputation associated with acourier device, a reputation associated with a data recipient, a licenseparameter associated with a courier device, a license parameterassociated with a data recipient, an account parameter associated with acourier device, or an account parameter associated with a datarecipient.
 47. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; a content circuitthat selects content to be carried in the memory of a courier apparatusoperating in a direct network, where the content is received from a dataprovider and delivered to a second device by the courier apparatus,where the content circuit selects the content based on content stored bythe courier apparatus, content stored by the second device, and adistribution plan for the direct network, where the distribution plandescribes content that is to be stored on the second device; and aconnection circuit that controls communications in the direct networkbetween the courier apparatus and the content provider and between thecourier apparatus and the second device, where the connection circuitcontrols the communication of the content between the courier apparatusand the content provider at a first time at a first physical locationusing a first protocol while the courier apparatus is located at thefirst physical location, where the connection circuit controls thecommunication of the content between the courier apparatus the seconddevice at a second time at a second physical location using a secondprotocol while the courier apparatus is located at the second physicallocation, where the second protocol does not involve the Internet, andwhere the second protocol is connectionless.